Tina suddenly strode past Henry and Linda and up to Irene, the culprit who had set her up five years ago, as she slapped Irene across the face.She really did not think that Irene was already that vile five years ago!Irene naturally wanted to fight back but felt Henry's glare on her and did not even dare to move, allowing Tina to keep going, slapping her repeatedly across the cheek.Tina only stopped after her slaps left Irene's face swollen, and she felt like she had expressed the spite that was accumulating inside for what Irene had done five years ago.Then, just as Tina was about to stop, Linda suddenly rushed up, shielding Irene. "That's enough, Tina! Stop! She kept it a secret because of me—blame me if you want! Don't hurt Irene anymore!"However, now that Irene had seen Linda's true colors, she did not feel grateful despite Linda's protection.She had really been stupid in the past—in fact, Linda had only come to her protection only when Tina was done! This so-called prot
"Are you ever going to stop?!" Henry bellowed as he flung Irene aside, glowering as he whipped out his phone and called Andy. "Get up here. You're taking Irene to the cops."Irene's eyes widened in shock, while Tina turned away, picking up her phone from the tea table and turning to leave.She had achieved what she had set out to do, and she was not in the mood for Linda's innocent act.As she strode out, Irene was howling hysterically, "You're taking me to the cops?! Just because I hit Linda?!"Henry never answered, but that much was obvious.Irene had hurt his beloved woman as he watched—forget a cousin, as he would even hurt his own biological sister if he had one.Tina smirked as she left without looking back.She stood at the entrance, ready to hail a cab since she did not drive here.Several men stopped out just then as well.Their eyes lit up right then, as she was ridiculously pretty even without makeup.And seeing that she was alone, they hurried toward her. "Hey, be
Tina's expression was icy and her tone cold. "I have nothing to say to you."She opened the door, but just as her foot touched the ground, Henry grabbed her wrist and pulled her back inside, then shut the door again."Henry Barnes!!!" Tina bellowed.Click!At the same time, the car was locked.Tina's eyes flashed in rage as she smacked Henry's hand away. "Do you have trouble understanding words?! I said there's nothing to talk about! Open the door—I'm getting off!"However, even as Tina's tone turned cold, Henry spotted a familiar figure in the rearview mirror.It was John Levine. His pretty brow creased—that man really showed up everywhere!Even as John turned toward his car, Henry floored the gas pedal and sped off.Caught off guard, Tina fell backward but did not hit anything this time, as a large hand shielded her.Tina was gasping, still in shock even as she reclined against the seat.Breathing a long sigh and holding back the expletives on the tip of her tongue, she
Hearing that Henry was offering to make amends only reminded Tina that Linda had murdered her daughter.Tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit down to fight back the pain in her heart.Her darling Sophie had wanted this so much, but she was dead now.It was all too late—Henry's amends were pointless."Make it up to Sophie?" She scoffed in disdain even as she fought back her tears. "With what?"Henry presumed that her harshness was from all the grievances she had suffered in the past five years, and that it was only temporary, so he played along. "What would you like? Just say the word, and I'll give it to you."However, he did not offer to marry Tina.After all, she had always known her place and understood that Linda was the one he wanted to marry.It was a promise when Linda had saved him when she was six, and since then, Linda was the only one who could be his wife.Nonetheless, as Tina held Henry's gaze, she spoke with an icy tone that chilled the bone. "If I say I want
John answered Tina's call almost instantly, his melodious voice asking, "Tina?""John, can you—"For her part, Tina was ready to cut straight to the chase as soon as John answered, but a large hand snatched her phone from behind before she could finish and cut off the call right away."Henry Barnes!" Tina bellowed, but he was so quick she only realized her phone had been snatched after the fact.Glowering, she promptly reached for it, but Henry simply held it over his head.There was already an eight-inch difference in their height, and with him raising his hand, Tina could not reach her phone no matter how she strained herself.Furious, she stomped her stiletto heel into his foot as hard as she could."Oof!" Henry gasped in pain and leveled a cold glare at her as he growled, "You're killing your husband!""Go to hell!" Tina spat.He had not married her for five years, and he was now calling himself her husband?!Dream on!Even as Henry buckled from the pain, Tina glowered a
Henry's eyes were on Tina even as he held his cigarette and answered the phone.Tina ignored him as he had clearly mentioned Linda's name to screw with her, but just as she got up, Henry's face dropped.He dropped his cigarette on her too, and she flinched in pain, losing her balance and falling again.However, Henry was busy assuring Linda endlessly as she screamed in terror on the other end. "Calm down! I'm coming right now—I'll save you! It's alright!"He did not hang up as he continued offering words of comfort, completely ignoring Tina as if she was never there.As soon as he returned to his car, he floored the gas pedal, disappearing into the night."Henry Barnes!" Tina yelled just as she got up, but her voice was drowned out by the roaring engine, and she was left standing as she watched Henry's car disappear from sight.A cold breeze blew just then, and the rustle of leaves echoed on both sides of the road.As Tina shuddered, she picked up her bag from the ground and to
Seeing that Henry was stopping to listen, the man's eyes lit up with hope, and he quickly said, "It's the truth, Mr. Barnes—I'm not lying! She really came on to us!"That woman's acting was just too good.If they had not personally been there, even they would have doubted that the same person who came on to them was also the same person who had accused them!"It's the truth, Mr. Barnes!" the other man promptly echoed, his tone earnest as he tried to convince Henry.Regret was twisting their insides to a bunch too, as they did not have evidence—if they did, they would have shown it!They had been feeling gleeful earlier that they were doing it in a place without cameras.And now, they could not even defend themselves!Henry looked at them then.He could see that they were just stopping short of swearing it was the truth, and there was no hint of guilt in their eyes as they looked at him in turn."No!!! Get away from me!!! Please don't touch me!!! Henry!!! Henry!!!"But even as
It was a line that reminded Henry of that moment five years ago, and he nodded. "Yeah. I told you I'd never let you get hurt again, Linda."The single line offered Linda assurance, and she threw herself into Henry's arms."Henry…" She sobbed endlessly, at once hysterical and miserable. "You came for me!"Pained, Henry pursed his lips and scooped her up in his arms. "It's alright. I'm taking you home right now.""Yeah," Linda murmured, hugging his neck and pressing her cheek against his chest, shuddering endlessly.She seemed horrified, refusing to leave his embrace.And that was how Henry carried her to his car, quietly telling the chauffeur to head to Rose Garden.It was almost ten when they arrived.As Henry carried Linda inside as well, the maid heard them and came out.Bowing respectfully at the two when she saw them, she said, "Mr. Barnes, Ms. Cook. Rory's asleep.""Good," Henry replied quietly and leaned down to tell Linda tenderly, "We're home, Linda."Linda did not s
Linda kept rambling on. "I was just too hurt and said those things in the heat of the moment!"It isn't what I really think—I feel guilty hurting Jimmy, but I had no choice! You know that Rory is my life!"Rory is only seven—her life has just begun! But she was in the terminal stage and had no kidney donor and could die anytime."You know how much my heart hurts seeing her suffering from her illness."I had tried other other options, but I know Tina hates me, which was why they had deliberately denied Rory!"I begged them, only for Tina to humiliate me, making me bow to her in public! I even did it, but they still refused!"What can I do?! I can't just watch Rory die…."Henry did not take her side over her words and snapped coolly, "Even so, you don't get to hurt Jimmy! You know that he has a tournament!""Yes, I do!" Linda nodded. "But if I didn't do it, would you have approached him?! You can be considerate about his dreams, but not me!"I know I'm selfish, ignoring national
All Linda could think about was what Henry was doing there when she saw him there with Jimmy.When did he get there, and how much of her conversation with Tina did he hear?Linda was simply unsure, so she did not speak recklessly, instead quickly adjusted her emotions.As she looked up, she made sure Henry had a clear line of sight of her cheeks—flushed and swollen from Tina's violent slaps.At the same time, tears were quickly welling up in her eyes to evoke Henry's sympathy, while she called out miserably, "Henry…"Her tears rolled out at the same time, a perfect picture of a victim that evoked sympathy.She was used to doing this and knew that it would never fail to dupe Henry.He believed he owed her and could not bear to see her sad.And to no surprise, as soon as Henry saw her shedding tears, he strode up to her.Despite being delighted, Linda made herself look even more aggrieved, as she knew that Tina still could not budge her place in Henry's heart.She just had to c
As Tina kept ranting, she kept slapping Linda like she had lost her mind.And Linda had seen Tina behave like that two years ago, when she had used Sophie's ashes to drive Tina to suicide!Did this mean that Tina's crippling depression had relapsed?Perhaps the slap had left Linda stunned and less sharp-minded, as she could not help feeling thrilled at the thought.She had heard that depression was incurable, and strong trauma would cause a relapse.And once it did, it would be worse than before.Tina had been suicidal two years ago, and even if she did not kill herself with this relapse, she might just go crazy.And if Tina was crazy, Henry would never be with her even if he fell for her.Linda forgot her pain right then and leveled a smug, venomous look at Tina as she gloated sinisterly. "So what if it was me?! What can you do?! Do you have proof?!"You're really angry, aren't you?! Because Jimmy Jones is crippled and in a lot of pain?!"He's always wanted gold, but lost a
"No," the officer replied. "It was an inmate named Zach Foster. The culprit was Foster's acquaintance, and Foster talked him into it."Foster confessed to it when we interrogated him, and he said he wanted revenge because he hated Mr. Jones for not donating his kidney to his daughter. He wanted to hurt Mr. Jones so that he couldn't take part in the tournament and suffer."The motive made sense, and there was a confession, so the case was closed right then.However, just hearing Zach's name mentioned gave Tina an answer—Linda had planned everything.Remembering the things Linda had spat at her back at the hospital, it was clear that Linda wanted Jimmy's kidney no matter what it took because it would make her suffer.As Tina looked at Jimmy's wounded hand after the call ended, she felt her heart tighten, her nails digging into her palm as her knuckles clenched. After calming herself for a while, she said, "Get some rest. I'll visit Mom.""Travel safe," Jimmy told her.Tina nodde
All of Linda's plans had just gone to ruin!A cool voice spoke behind her just then. "Disappointed that it wasn't me?"Hearing that it was Jimmy, Linda almost blurted, "Yes! Very much so!"Fortunately, she bit her lip and stopped herself just in time, subtly taking a deep breath to stop herself from speaking her mind.As she composed herself and adjusted her expression, she noticed that Henry was watching her.And she could not arouse his suspicion, or he might realize that she was behind Jimmy's accident.Instead, she forced a smile as she turned toward Jimmy, exclaiming in a sickly sweet voice, "No way!"I'm really just relieved, and this is naturally the best outcome. Rory's going to be fine, while you and Tina won't feel bad about this…"She then leveled a pointed look at Tina and continued, "After all, I've done Tina wrong regarding Sophie. I can understand why she hates me and doesn't want Rory to grow up healthy…"Jimmy snapped, "Shut up already, two-faced bitch!"He t
Tina looked up, unable to hide her shock.Henry looked downward at her in turn, his tone earnest, "It's true. I won't lie to you—as soon as I was told there's another viable donor, I promptly changed donors."I don't know what you and Jimmy take exception to, but I wouldn't have asked him if I had a choice. It was never my intention to coerce him."His gaze was penetrating, as if to peer through Tina's eyes and into her mind, attempting to understand her behavior.He never wanted Jimmy's kidney from the start—if he did, he would not have told them and afforded them a choice.He continued to search for another viable donor after that and had to coerce Jimmy because circumstances compelled him to."What I said in Jimmy's room wasn't all true." He sighed as he continued, "I'd never hurt you knowingly, let alone Jimmy, who's your good friend."He had said what he said because he knew Jimmy cared about Tina, and that was his only choice if he wanted to make Jimmy sign the organ donat
Grinning smugly, Linda continued, "I murdered your daughter, and not only could you not do anything about that, but even your best friend has to give up his kidney for my daughter! Hurts to think about it, no? But what can you do about it? The more it hurts you, the more it pleases me!"Tina's chest was heaving, but she did not waste her breath—she kicked Linda to the floor and walked over Linda as she lay sprawled on the floor.But just as she went over, the lights turned off—the surgery was over.As the doctor stepped out, Tina grabbed his arm and demanded worriedly, "Where's the donor? Is he alright?""Don't worry—the surgery was a success. Both the donor and patient are fine."Tina sighed in relief, hearing that Jimmy was fine.That was when Henry stepped out, having heard her.Seeing that it really was her, Henry said, "Don't worry, Jimmy is—""Shut up!"However, Tina's hatred flared even though she heard that Jimmy was fine, and she did not even give Henry a chance to fi
Tina mentioned Sophie on purpose to invoke what little humanity Henry had, just to catch him off guard so she could grab the organ donation form and tear it into pieces.However, Henry caught her hand before she could reach it and said quietly, "Sorry, Tina."Before she could pull with her other hand, Henry struck her nape with the side of his palm.Tina's eyes widened in disbelief at Henry, and her vision turned dark as she fell limply in Henry's arms."Henry Barnes!!!" Jimmy bellowed, not expecting Henry to attack Tina."She's fine! Waste more time and Rory dies, and everyone will suffer!" Henry snapped at him as he put Tina on the couch before pulling off Jimmy's blanket and placing it over her.His touch was gentle, but his words sent a chill down the spine, as if his patience toward Tina was built entirely on the basis that Linda and Rory were fine.Otherwise, he would go crazy for their sake.As such, Jimmy followed him out of his hospital room, and Henry sent him to the
Henry appeared troubled as he looked at Tina, and he spoke softly as he assured her, "Calm down—don't worry, I've arranged everything, and the procedure will be safe. Jimmy's going to be fine."Once it's done, I'll compensate him with everything… He can have money and a job, anything. He won't have donated his kidney for nothing."Tina's chest heaved from rage, glaring hatefully at Henry as she pointed at the door and snapped, "Get out! Don't give me that bullshit! Jimmy would never say yes no matter what you tell him!"He did not move, so she pushed him and kicked him. "I told you to leave! Can't you hear?!""Just calm down, Tina," Henry sighed, anxious as another moment's delay meant Rory was in more danger. "We're talking about human life here—can't you just set aside past grudges for now? Rory's really going to die, and she needs Jimmy's kidney. This really can't wait!""What does that have to do with us?!" Tina bellowed and started throwing things at Henry since she was una